“I played like I wanted to be like Na Sung-ho last year, and it worked out.”
Dankook University defeated Hanyang University 75-63 on Wednesday to advance to the quarterfinals of the men’s collegiate Group A preliminary round of the 79th National Men’s and Women’s National Basketball Championship at the Glory Sports Center.
Dankook, which had suffered a 15-point loss to Myeongji University, needed to beat Hanyang University by at least 10 points to advance to the quarterfinals. However, it finished the first quarter with a 14-24 record. 토토 They were in danger of being eliminated.
Dankook turned the tide in the second quarter. It dominated 26-7. Dankook kept the game within 10 points in the third quarter before pulling away for a 12-point victory.
At the center of the victory was Song Jae-hwan (187 cm, G). Song finished with 23 points (6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals), including 4 three-pointers, including 12 points in the second quarter alone to start the comeback.
After the game, Song said, “It’s a great win for the team because everyone played hard together. It feels good to have a victory after a long time,” Song said after the game.
Dankook University lost 69-81 to Hanyang University in the preliminary round of the MBC Bae National University Basketball Tournament last month. On this day, they revenged with a 12-point victory.
“The biggest thing was that we couldn’t afford to lose,” said Song Jae-hwan. “We needed to win by at least 10 points to pass the qualifiers, but the game went back and forth around 10 points at the end. I told my teammates to stay focused and defend until the end, and it worked out well.”
With a 10-point deficit after the first quarter, it was thought that even a comeback victory would not be enough to advance to the quarterfinals. However, the team’s solid defense forced Hanyang University to make a series of mistakes and won the game by the required margin to advance to the quarterfinals.
“In the first quarter, when we weren’t playing well and the opponent was shooting free throws, I gathered the players and told them that we shouldn’t play like this, that we can play like this if we defend and rebound, and that we should play hard on defense as if we were starting over,” Song recalled.
Despite the loss, Song had a team-high 18 points (9 rebounds, 5 assists, 6 steals, 2 blocks) against Myeongji University.
When asked about his ace performance in the tournament, Song said, “I told the team during winter training that I wanted to play ace. I didn’t have many good games in the college league because I was too greedy to play the ace,” he said. “I tried to go back to my roots and contribute to the team with defense. I wanted to be like Na Sung-ho last year, and it worked out well,” he said.
Dankook University, which is 1-1 against Hanyang University, will meet once more in the KU Basketball League when it resumes in the second semester. It’s no exaggeration to say that this game is a playoff game.
“Last year, we met in the group stage and played Hanyang in the playoffs, so it was a tough match,” said Song Jae-hwan. “If the injured players come back and work hard, there will be good results. Even if we meet them in the college league, we will play hard together.”
To beat Hanyang again, the team will have to continue what they did well on the day.
Song Jae-hwan added, “Kim Tae-young, Hwang Ji-min, and everyone else did a great job defending and doing dirty things, getting fouls on the opponent, and putting the ball in the net when they gave it to us. Defense was important, and we did a good job.”
With the score 73-63 with 1:39 left in the game, Song Jae-hwan drew an unsportsmanlike foul (U-foul) on Kang Ji-hoon and went to the free throw line, but missed both. It would have been a disappointing scene if they had won by less than nine points. Luckily, Song In-joon scored from the line to save the day.
“I was scared because if we didn’t qualify, it was because of the free throws. I trusted the team. I trusted them to score, and they did, so we passed the qualifiers.” “Song In-joon must be lonely and hard as the oldest brother in the fourth grade. Thank you for getting along well with the juniors who don’t listen to me, and thank you for your hard work in today’s (3rd) match.”
Dankook University will play the semifinals against Dongguk University at 2:10 p.m. on April 4.
“Dongguk University has a very good height,” said Song. We have to play with the mindset of going one step further to not lose in defense, boxing out, and rebounding, and if Dongguk University makes good shots, we will have a tough game, so we have to think about that and play hard.”
